Page 51 of To Crave Darkly
She smiled sadly. “Yes, it’s lovely. It’s just weird to think of it as my room.”
“I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” I wanted to reach over the table and take her hand. I needed to curb that. No good would come of it. So, I made my hands busy and went back to cleaning my gun.
“How big is this place? The Conclave? I kind of expected it to be a small building but this place seems to go on for miles.” She looked up at me with questions burning in her gaze and, fuck me, I couldn’t resist. What the hell was wrong with me?
“It’s probably the size of a large town. De Santis started the Conclave as a safe place for people to hide after the Dark War. Back then it was only Blackstone Castle and a few outbuildings, but as more people sought refuge the Conclave expanded to accommodate them. Now it’s a self-contained town with everything you might need.”
“The Dark War?”
“It was 300 years ago when a war broke out amongst the original three dark clans. They each existed in their own sphere and, for many years, coexisted peacefully alongside each other. One day somebody pissed someone else off and all Hell broke loose. Literally. Lucifer got involved and ended up becoming the common enemy that united the clans.”
“What are the original clans?” Lori asked, cupping her chin in her hand. She was hanging on to my every word, and I was struggling not to find that an incredible turn on.
“Vampires, demons and magic users. Lucifer created the first three, no doubt you have seen the statue in the square?”
“Yes, I did wonder about that. Who were they?”
“Mordecai, the original Vampire, Selena, the first witch and Iver, the first Demon. Every vampire, magic user and demon can trace their heritage back to these Original Three. Lucifer didn’t want humans and animals to be the only creations on earth, so he moulded his own. He imparted a little of his soul into all three. Greed and lust into the vampire, magic and pride into the witch and wrath and the ability to shift into the demon.”
“Wow. That’s quite a history.”
“It is. At the time, everyone thought that this was the moment of the prophecy, but by uniting, the clans managed to stop Lucifer before he rose to claim the world. Ironic really, that his own creations would turn against him.”
“Why did Lucifer get involved in the first place?”
“No one really knows. I think he saw it as an opportunity to rise up out of the Underworld, but he didn’t seem to get very far. In the aftermath of the war the Triumvirate was set up. It consists of one leader from each clan and they govern the Dark World together. De Santis from the vampires, Violette Dubois from the witches, and Morgon from the Demons. They each preside over their own councils and together they keep the peace.”
“That’s the Circle here isn’t it?”
“Yes. The Conclave is the capital of the Dark World, so you have a really broad mix of species residing here. But there are other places like this, hidden from prying eyes, where you may only find witches or demons.”
“What happened to the Original Three?”
“No one knows. They just disappeared from the history books. They might be dead, or they might be hiding somewhere. It’s a mystery.”
Lori sat back in her seat, I could see her mind whirring and the little cogs turning as she processed it all. It was a lot to take in, and I could only hope that the more she learned, the more she would want to fight the prophecy rather than succumb to it.
“Got it!”
Lori yelped as Saskia swanned back into the room, and it was fucking adorable. Her eyes widened as they fell on the lethal looking weapon in Saskia’s hands. The Silent Soul was a wicked-looking battle scythe, akin to its agricultural relative with a round blade and long handle, but that was where the similarity ended. This battle scythe was compact, with a large curved blade on one side and a small recurved blade on the other. It had a sharp lance to the top of the pole and a deadly little gutting blade on the bottom. It was a menacing piece of weaponry that none of us had ever really managed to master. I figured it was perfect for Lori.
“What’s a reaper without her scythe?” I asked smiling at the awe in her gaze.
“Go on take it,” Saskia said, thrusting the thing into Lori’s hands. “Go stand over there and just get a feel for it.”
Lori looked terrified but, fair play to her, she stood in the middle of the room and had a go at moving with it. Saskia was all encouragement, shouting manoeuvres for her to try and throwing some praise her way. I just watched silently, mesmerised by the way her confidence grew as she became accustomed to the feel of it in her hands. She moved with grace, like a dancer moving to music only she heard. It was impressive to see and so fucking sexy. Her muscles rippled with the effort, her lithe body twisting and turning and fuck… I was getting hard.
I stood abruptly from my chair and the scrape along the floor distracted her. Her eyes caught mine and, for a long moment, they held my gaze prisoner. She swallowed nervously and then grinned, a delicious blush creeping up her neck. She knew I’d been watching her. And she’d liked it. Fuck.
“This is perfect for you, Lori,” Saskia said elatedly. “We can start doing some Bo staff training to get you some skills.”
“Sounds great,” she replied without taking her eyes off mine.
“Don’t you have to go find your magic with Fenris,” I goaded, and her face fell. I was being a dick, but I couldn’t have her looking at me like that. Like she wanted to strip me in the middle of the room. I didn’t want her to know how much she affected me.
“Yes. Thank you for this Saskia.” She placed the scythe on the table before fixing me with a penetrating stare. I bit back the apology that was on the tip of my tongue. “I’ll see you guys later.”
My eyes were glued to the lilt of her hips as she left the room. She was just naturally sexy. Everything about the way she moved was enticing and the fact that she had no clue how sexy she was, was a massive turn on. Shame I couldn’t do anything about it. It wasn’t just Jasper holding me back. I got why he didn’t want his team sleeping together, it was a disaster waiting to happen, but I couldn’t fall for her, or anyone. I was cursed and had been for almost 80 years. I could fuck Lori if I wanted to, but I couldn’t fall for her, and she deserved better than that.
